Programs
Lululemon’s Premium Loyalty Strategy Drives Growth
The apparel company took a risk and launched a program in which members pay to have discounts and exclusive access to merchandise, but with its careful roll-out, the program has been performing well and is showing great potential for growth. “One analyst with Stifel is very optimistic about the potential financial impact. The analyst expects the program will be successful in doing what it’s designed to do, which is drive higher incremental spending from Lululemon’s most loyal customers. The analyst believes the program could add at least $0.50 per share to earnings once the company begins to roll it out more broadly.”
Canadian Tire Expands Loyalty Program to Cover More Retail Brands
CTC’s members will soon have more ways to earn. “The company says starting later this spring, customers will be able to collect money at Sport Chek, Mark’s, Atmosphere, and Gas+ locations in addition to Canadian Tire itself, as well as redeem it at locations other than Gas+ stations.”
Customer Experience
Dasani Rolls Out Water Dispenser to Reduce Plastic Use
The bottled water brand is rolling out a vending machine that doesn’t provide bottles. “If you want to buy sparkling water from Dasani’s new vending machine, you won’t get a plastic bottle. In fact, you can’t buy the water at all unless you supply your own bottle. The machine, called PureFill, is one of 100 that Dasani is rolling out to test as one approach to deal with the problem of plastic waste, of which it is a major contributor.”
Olive Garden Pushes the Limits of Free Food
Unlimited breadsticks is no longer all that Olive Garden is giving away. “The company’s Olive Garden chain has had great success in recent years with its Never Ending Pasta Pass, which allows winners to pay $100 for a card that entitles them to unlimited food for nine weeks. The event is not only a public relations bonanza but a fairly affordable way to get customers in the door during what is an otherwise slow part of the year.”
B2B
Car Brands with the Most and Least Loyal Customers
24/7 Wall Street has reviewed J.D Power data to determine which car brands retain the most customers. For example, “Though Chevrolet sales declined by 6.4 percent in the first half of 2019, it still sold nearly 1 million vehicles during the period and remained one of the biggest auto manufacturers in America. It seems that Chevy has been able to keep its drivers relatively satisfied, as nearly half of all of its drivers who sought a new car in the last year returned to the brand.”